Baptism into Jazz

I don’t get to go to Spazio’s and I hadn’t seen Louie play since the Galaxy Ball.  Time to check things out.  So I signed up for the Chuck Niles Birthday Bash.  Louie has been invited to play, along with a raft of others.  This is clearly an acknowledgement of his artistry in a genre I don’t know much about.  Time to get educated.  What I wind up with is a baptism by immersion. 

The Westin Long Beach is a classy hotel.  The Heavenly Beds are just that.  Too bad we can’t observe the activities from the delicious comfort of these beds, complete with quilts and neck bolsters.  The Centennial Ballroom is the center of the action.  Silent auction materials abound, including a raffle for 3 days use of a Jaguar, donated by a local dealer.  Two video screens are set up for those with a less than optimal view of the stage to see what is going on.  The coordination of instruments by the stagehands throughout the event was first class.  Everything moved in and out without any obvious hitch visible to the audience. 

The Birthday Bash not only honored Chuck Niles, it supported the Jazz Scholarship in his name at UC Northridge.  Guests at the Bash had a choice of 4 classes of tickets:  Platinum, which included front row table seats, a private reception and jazz concert, dinner, free program (priced at $5) and who knows what else: Gold, which participated in the reception and concert, along with dinner and program: Silver, which got dinner and the program: General Admission, which got to come in and listen to the music and roast.  Platinum is out of my reach, and I simply don’t know enough to justify the cost for Gold, so settle for Silver.  It turns out to be the right choice for me. 

Sequins, glitter, a backless peach dress, a strapless red dress, tuxedos, suits, basic black, basic silver and so on are the order of the day.  A few are dressed even more casually than myself.  White and light green are my colors, which I dress up with the best jewelry in my box.  I may not be super tres chic, but then I have never been a fashionista. 

Tables were set up for parties of 9 so I am the singleton at a table with 4 couples.  Two of the couples came together and the husband in one is quite fond of cookies.  The wife of the second couple offers to go find him Oreos.  A third couple provides games for arcades, circuses, and fairs.  They are working at Circus Circus.  The husband of this couple rustles up cookies for the Cookie Man later in the evening, courtesy of the volunteers.  All of the couples are jazz aficionados. 

Dinner is wonderful and is followed by the ‘roast’ of Chuck Niles.  First he is presented with numerous proclamations in his honor from various political entities, such as the City of Long Beach, the City of Los Angeles, the Governor, Senator Feinstein, and others.  Then on to the ‘roast’ with Chuck parked in a chair onstage with a gold crown on his head.  Birthday wishes include a song by his daughter Tracy who is a contemporary and Blues singer.  Dick McGarvin, a colleague from a former station, offers to take Chuck to the Antiques Roadshow to find out what he is worth and then auction him for the KLON pledge drive.  Chuck’s notorious frugality, willingness to ignore the format and play what he wanted to, and consistently running overtime on his shows are all noted.  Marilyn King (formerly of the King Sisters) relates her many attempts to get the dirt on Chuck.  He is the only jazz DJ with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and clearly beloved by the artists whose music he has supported.  They call him the High Priest of Disk Jockeys. 

At the end of the ‘roast’ the special guests are announced and my jaw falls to the floor.  Robert (RJ) Wagner and his wife, Jill St. John, are seated not 3 tables from me in the Platinum group.  I had a serious crush on him back in the days of It Takes a Thief when he played Alexander Mundy.  He was such a prime piece of male pulchritude to my 16-year-old eyes.  And so smooth and charming with the ladies!  I imagined many scenarios with Al Mundy as only a teen with raging hormones can.  I am sorry I left the camera at home.  It would have been well worth the film to try and get a picture of him.  He is quite possibly one of the classiest actors on the planet, so much so that a current commercial has him dressed in a tuxedo and playing with a computer.  RJ (that’s what his friends call him) steps on stage and leads the audience in singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Chuck.  Then a break is called while the stage is being set up for the performances.  RJ and Jill step out to the lobby and have their pictures taken with numerous folks, quite possibly sponsors.  They are smiling and accommodating throughout.  They are a very nice couple, and an unexpected bonus in the evening. 

The performances begin and features groups of artists put together to perform a single song.  Once done, they leave the stage and the next group sets up.  Trios, quartets, and so on, we are treated to many different artists rendering all manner of songs and instrumentals.  Lou Rawls performs twice and does a parody of “It Was a Very Good Year” which is directed to Chuck.  His last song is “You're Going to Miss My Loving” and he is done.  “Stormy Monday” is performed, as is “Drink Muddy Waters.”  As noted, the stagehands are efficient and instruments are moved around in seconds so there is only a moment between performances. 

The best performance that I heard is by Mary Stallings.  I can’t tell you the song, but the entire house was silent.  She had the audience completely enthralled and she is a fantastic singer.  The whooping and cheering when she finished rivaled anything else in the evening.  I am hooked now. 

Louie was part of a group featuring Melanie Jackson doing the vocals, Sal Cracchiola on flugelhorn, Francisco Aguabella on congas, and Ramon Banda on drums.  Louie had the timbales.  I don’t know the song, it had a Latin flavor to it thanks to the percussions.  Aside from Melanie and Sal, only Francisco got a solo.  Louie looked like he was ready to just burst, his movements suggesting a lot of bottled up energy being held under restraint.  From what I could determine from the music I heard, and looking at the rest of the lineup, I don’t think there was any other music with a Latin beat to it.  This was Louie’s only moment on stage, but it was significant that he was invited to play and I am glad he got the invite. 

I left the Bash at 12:30 AM.  It had been a long day, starting at 5 AM on Saturday and ending with a great party, which went on for at least another hour!  I got to learn something about a musical genre I am otherwise clueless about, and also see a brief performance by Louie.  It was all worth the trip.